Recently, as various remote controllable electronic products such as a smart computer and an Internet protocol television (IPTV) appear, various kinds of signal input devices for remotely inputting a signal into the electronic products are also provided. Meanwhile, an input method in which a corresponding item or icon is selected by moving a mouse cursor and a menu is executed is used widely, and thus a remote controller in which a touch pad is installed to move the mouse cursor is being commercialized.
When the mouse cursor is operated using the touch pad, the mouse cursor is located on the corresponding item or icon, and the corresponding item or icon is selected by tapping the touch pad. Here, when a user unintentionally touches the touch pad, an undesired item or icon may be selected. Also, when a user's finger is slightly separated from and then in contact with the touch pad during a drag motion, an item or icon selection may be undesirably executed. Further, there has been proposed a remote controller in which a mouse movement is performed through the touch pad, and the item and icon selection is performed through a separate button. However, in this case, there is a difficult in alternatively operating the touch pad and the button with one finger.
To solve the problems, there has been proposed a signal input device in which a switch is installed at a lower side of the touch pad. Hereinafter, the signal input device having the touch pad and the switch will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional signal input device, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the conventional signal input device.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional signal input device is configured so that a printed circuit board 20 is located under a touch pad 10, and switches 30 are installed on the printed circuit board 20, and the touch pad 10, the printed circuit board 20 and the switches 30 are mounted in one housing 40. A user performs a drag operation on the touch pad 10 to move a mouse cursor and then presses down the touch pad 10 so that a pushing terminal 32 of the switch 30 is pushed, and thus a signal input such as an item or icon selection may be performed.
At this time, the switches 30 are located in an up and down direction and a left and right direction centering on a center portion of the touch pad 10, and thus a kind of the operated switch 30 is determined according to an area of the touch pad 10 pushed by the user. However, when a plurality of switches 30 are provided under one touch pad 10, several switches 30 may be pushed at a time, and thus a malfunction may occur, and also since a constant click feeling may not be provided, the user may fall in confusion. Also, to operate the switch 30 even when the user pushes any area of the touch pad 10, the plurality of switches 30 should be provided under the touch pad 10, and thus a manufacturing cost may be increased.
Besides, to transmit a pushing signal of the switch 30, the separate printed circuit board 20 other than the touch pad 10 is necessarily required, and thus a structure is complicated, and a manufacturing cost is remarkably increased.